Tuesday, September 25, 2012

With their 6-1 loss at home against the Cardinals on Monday, the Houston Astros earned the right to pick first in the 2013 draft. This marks the second consecutive year the Astros will pick first.

Many exciting battles still remain, including those for second pick (the Cubs and Rockies are tied with nine games remaining; the Cubs would win a tiebreaker on the "strength" of their 71-91 record in 2011) and fourth pick (the Indians have moved a game ahead of the Twins with eight games left; Minnesota's 63-99 showing last year is enough to push them ahead in the event of a tie).

Meanwhile, congrats again to the Astros on finishing what they started. With the National League in line to have the first three picks in the 2013 draft, it is good that Houston is switching to the American League (with sincerest apologies to the "Death Before DH" crowd). Having one league dominate doesn't benefit baseball.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Thanks to @zacharylevine for reminding me that ties in draft order are broken by previous year's record. Since the Astros also had the worst record in 2011, they win all tiebreakers.

This means that their magic number is one less than what I've been reporting and also that elimination dates I've provided were wrong. The corrected dates are listed here. I strive for accuracy and apologize for the earlier error.

If the Astros win on Monday or the Rockies lose, the race is over. Houston will have secured the right to pick first in the 2013 draft.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

It almost certainly is "too little, too late" but the three remaining combatants are making this end game as interesting as possible. Houston keeps beating the Pirates, while the Rockies and Cubs keep losing. If the Astros lose on Sunday and the Cubs win, this becomes a two-team race... but those are big ifs, and in this topsy-turvy world of September baseball, nobody is celebrating their draft position just yet.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

With the Astros and Cubs both winning on Friday, Houston must wait until at least Sunday to pop the cork. Meanwhile, Colorado lost big at home, slipping into second. The Rockies have gotten serious about this.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Twins, behind Josh Willingham's 4-for-5, 4 RBI performance, beat the Indians in the opener of the battle for fourth place on Wednesday. And by winning the game, they are losing the battle. BENCH WILLINGHAM!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Congrats to the Astros on losing their 100th game of the season Tuesday night. Huge milestone for them.

Meanwhile, the Cubs and Rockies find themselves engaged in a fierce battle for second, while the Twins and Indians are deadlocked at fourth. You can't ask for much more than what these teams are doing right now.

Friday, September 14, 2012

The Blue Jays are the latest team eliminated. The Red Sox and the Marlins put their shot at number 1 on the line on Friday, while Houston seeks to avoid a repeat of Thursday night's comeback victory against the Phillies. Now is not the time to start winning games.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

And the Astros manage to lose two out of three at home against the Cubs, putting yet more distance between the two teams. Houston needs just two more losses in their final 19 games to reach 100 on the season, although no bonus draft picks are awarded for reaching that milestone. Eight teams remain, and two more face elimination on Thursday.